Realizing your dreams (while saving a few pennies)

For those who of you who know me, you will know that I've always appreciated quality over quantity. But that doesn't mean that I am willing to chase the dragon on diminishing returns. To that end, I've decided to dip my toes back into the world of audiophilic sound systems. Earlier in my life I had a very nice (and expensive) system that was definitely overkill ... but I loved it. Unfortunately, I had to let it go when I moved to the US.

Now, almost 13 years later, I'm in a position to plant roots, and so, I decided to upgrade from a compromised soundbar to something far more substantial. The best part of this was that I could build the perfect sound system by frankensteining a relatively understated array of parts into something rivaling the upper-most tiers for audio nirvana. Not even 5 years ago, I would have to have spent well over 2000 (USD equivalent) to get something which would not even be on parity with the system I have now. It is astounding how much hardware and software has evolved.

Here is the build:

• WiiM Ultra - a multi-source streamer with HDMI eArc and a vast array of inputs, including phono!
• SMSL SU-9N - this is a DAC (digital to analog convertor) which has astounding sound floors, clarity, and staging and can support up to 32bit/768KHz playback
• Aiyima A70 - this has a 116dB SNR and can output 300 watts @ 0.0015% distortion ... per channel!
• Wharfdale Evo 4.2 - 87dB sensitivity @ 4 Ohms and 45Hz-22KHz range

This is audio nirvana and I can categorically state that there is no integrated amp that has better specs - at any price. Now, even though the cost of these components end up totalling a little more than your standard midrange soundbar, if you were to budget the cost over 10 years the difference would be negligible. I would challenge every household to invest in a quality soundsystem - especially one as versatile as this one, as the enjoyment you will get from this well outweighs the additional cost.

With these four components, I'm able to chromecast, play tidal/pandora/amazon music/spotify, auto-switch inputs automatically, have integrated Alexa, control all these elements through my phone, remote, and touchscreen (built into the WiiM) - and have room correction, preamp, integrated EQ. The end result is a system that has (I have to admit) brought a few tears to my eye, as it surpassed my expectations with its soundstage, power, accuracy, and clarity. If you appreciate good audio then these components should be something to be considered. The beauty of this is you can inch towards audio nirvana as the WiiM also is a fully fledged amplifier in itself.

Side note: I was one of the first to purchase the WiiM Ultra when it was released (about a month ago) and, as with any new hardware, it had a few teething problems. Audio playback was perfect but the HDMI eArc had issues. I reported this issue to WiiM and they sent out a replacement model (with the revised hardware fix) free of charge. Now, *that* is customer service.